African
wild dogs face the threat of extinction because of human
persecution and habitat loss. With your support, the
AWD Conservancy is working with communities
in one of the most bioculturally rich regions on earth
to find ways for this endangered canid and people to
coexist.

Please help us raise $10,000 in the next three months
so that we can keep our conservation efforts moving
forward. Donations are urgently needed to pay staff,
produce education materials, and cover transport costs.

As
it turns out since our last annual e-newsletter, more
remote villages were found between the Tana
River and Tsavo
East National Park, a critical corridor linking
‘our’ wild dogs to those in the park. So, there was
more work to be done, and done it was! With a translator
and motorbikes, and a mokoro or two, the final trek
to the western hinterlands was a hard-won success. The
Conservancy has now completed the first comprehensive
large-scale surveys of wild dogs and livestock depredation
in the North Eastern and Coast Provinces of Kenya. Covering
some 100,000 sq km, this was no small feat! Some of
the area is experiencing tribal conflict and suffering
at the hands of al-Shabaab.

In the not too distant past, many conservationists mistakenly
believed that there were only vagrant packs in this
region. After conducting interviews in over 180 villages,
some of which were surveyed more than once several years
apart, we now have over 1,000 wild dog sightings in
our database. A definitive map showing wild dog distribution
and corridors will be produced. Villager reports of
livestock depredation
will enable us to identify hotspots as well as provide
much needed information on the distribution of other
predators such as cheetah and caracal. Preliminary analysis
of the livestock loss reports indicates that overall
losses due to wild dogs are low.

We want to thank you for your support! We could not
have done this without your help.

Survey Region Outlined in Red

Expanding
Our Educational Initiative

With
our Education Program Director in place, we are expanding
our educational outreach south of the Arawala National
Reserve and east of the Tana River. Since last year’s
teacher training workshop, school lessons on the food
chain, and that includes the important role African
wild dogs as well as other predators play, are being
taught in local primary school classrooms.

With the aim of dispelling myths about
wild dogs, a documentary film about their family life
is being shown to students as well as adults. To give
local people of all ages a window on the remaining wild
places and wildlife in Africa and beyond, we will be
using the Planet Earth series in schools and
villages. Several headmasters have already agreed to
work with us to start local wildlife and environmental
clubs for boys and girls. So, we have lots of work to
do and are asking you to please help us make this happen.

Wild
Dog = Eyedur

Food Chain
in the Web of Life

Schoolgirls
Watching Film

Pokomo Schoolboys
Watching Film

Schoolteacher
Announcing Film

Villagers
Watching Film

Protecting
Large Predators

Given the exponential growth of
the human population, too many large predators are increasingly
under threat. And yes, there are good ecological and
economic reasons why we need them, but shouldn’t they
be able to exist for their own sake? After all, we are
animals, something often forgotten, and many of us don’t
give a second thought about justifying our own existence,
no matter what we do to one another, other species,
or the planet. Together, let’s continue our efforts
to help one of the most endangered canids, African wild
dogs.

Wild
Dog in Southern Africa

We
need your help to keep our work moving forward.
Your donation of any amount is important. If you can't
make a contribution, help spread the word about our
work through Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and email.

Please
consider supporting the African Wild Dog Conservancy in its
efforts to save one of the world’s most endangered carnivores.
Whether a gift in the name of someone you care about
or for yourself, your support really can make
a difference.

Thank you.

Courtesy of the Chicago Zoological
Society

How many times a day do you search
on the Internet? Well, if you use the GoodSearch search
engine, you can help the AWD Conservancy protect this
endangered species. Just go to http://www.goodsearch.com/
and type "African Wild Dog Conservancy" in the "enter
your favorite charity or school here" field at the top
of the page. After that, you can use the search box
or just download the GoodSearch toolbar.
For every Internet search you make, one penny will go
to the Conservancy. Help us spread the word.

Started
in 2001, the African Wild Dog Conservancy
is dedicated to working with local communities, and
national and international stakeholders to conserve
wild dogs through scientific research and education.